Bio

Mr. Pair has extensive years experience in media technology management working with both large companies and entrepreneurial firms. He has designed and developed cutting edge technology for entertainment, art, training, and medical applications. A passionate innovator and entrepreneur, Pair’s background spans the areas of internet technology, mobile computing, augmented reality, immersive virtual environments, and live performance.

Starting in 2008, Pair served as chief technology officer at LP33, a music entertainment company focused on the discovery and promotion of emerging and established music artists through its multi platform online video and social networking technology. He held responsibility for all technology planning, development, and operations. Pair recruited and led a talented team of developers which created a highly regarded video portal along with a suite of popular apps for Facebook, smart phones, and internet connected televisions

Pair has continually sought to break new ground at the intersection of entertainment and technology. In March 2001, he worked with the band Duran Duran and the University of Southern California’s Integrated Media Systems Center to produce the world’s first immersive video and audio recording of a live rock concert. This pioneering work was presented on the internet and featured on duranduran.com. During October 2000-February 2001, Mr. Pair collaborated with Duran Duran in developing the first use of augmented reality technology in a live concert tour. Touring with the band, he also set up live streaming internet video broadcasts accessible via the band’s website.

In 1999-2001, Mr. Pair served as the advanced projects director at the start-up, Charmed.com, a MIT Media Lab spin-off seeking to commercialize internet connected wearable computing and fashion technology research. As Charmed.com’s first employee, he was heavily involved in all critical aspects of the business including fund raising, hardware prototyping, and the development of its public facing internet portal.

Prior to joining LP33, Pair founded and oversaw the Mixed Reality Research and Development Group at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies. Starting with a small seed project, he and his team successfully expanded their work to consistently acquire millions of dollars in yearly funding for applications targeted at internet connected mobile devices and immersive virtual reality systems. In 2005, realizing the power of the mobile phone as a computing platform, Pair secured funding and directed the development of an advanced internet application for quickly updating online digital maps using data from phone cameras and GPS sensors. Among the many other initiatives he led, Mr. Pair directed the technical design and development of the FlatWorld wide area mixed reality system. A 21st century version of the Star Trek holodeck, FlatWorld merged motion picture soundstage techniques with 3D stereoscopic computer graphics providing an immersive simulation environment in which users could walk and run as they do in the real world. Throughout 2001-2006, Pair also worked as an independent consultant on numerous internet media projects.

Mr. Pair was a founder of the computer audio research group, AudioLab, at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Graphics, Visualization, and Usability Center (GVU). He was a technical producer for the pioneering multimedia opera, StarChild which premiered at the 1996 Olympic Village Arts Festival. StarChild was broadcast live on the internet and featured a media rich website pushing the boundaries of web technology at the time. Additionally, Pair was a technician for NBC News supporting their Olympics video broadcasts. The following year, Pair worked as a development manager for a Denon corporation project funded to create software for their internet linkable karaoke machine.

Pair also served as a project manager and audio specialist in GVU’s Virtual Environments Group where his responsibilities included the management and deployment of a number of virtual reality systems for entertainment, cultural, and medical applications. Pair contributed to the launch of the start-up, Virtually Better, a company that markets virtual reality systems to psychotherapists for treating patients who suffer from phobias such as fear of heights, flying, and other conditions. In 1998-99 he worked with Hitachi Ltd., IMAX, and Douglas Trumbull’sEntertainment Design Workshop, a digital film and entertainment start-up, to develop a real time immersive audio system for an interactive ride simulator marketed to theme parks, arcades, and other venues.

Mr. Pair is an author on dozens of technical publications and a U.S. patent for a method linking the internet and mobile devices. His work has been featured in all major international press outlets including Wired, the New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and the BBC. He is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and he regularly serves as a committee member and reviewer for ACM and IEEE conferences. In 2009, he chaired the media program for the IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR). In 2010, he served as a visiting professor at the University of Bedfordshire’s Research Institute for Media, Art and Design (RIMAD).

While attending the Georgia Institute of Technology, Pair received a M.S. in Human-Computer-Interaction, a B.E. in Computer Engineering, and a B.S. in International Affairs along with a certificate in music, and a certificate in drama and film. He is the 2008 alumni recipient of the Ivan Allen Legacy Award.